The top storyline to follow next week at CES is no doubt the Tablet. It all but trounced the netbook in 2010 thanks to Apple’s groundbreaking iPad. And now it’s poised by some guesstimates at least to take a bite out of laptop share, although I suspect more than a few have already opted for an iPad/portable keyboard combo in lieu of a notebook since the iPad’s release in January 2010.
According to CNET, there could be up to 70 new tablets introduced at this year’s CES which will feature over 2,700 exhibitors.
Meanwhile I’ve been soaking up as much info as I can find about all the new models: Google, google, google. The mind boggles at the possibilities. It seems like every major PC or mobile hardware vendor has a tablet set to launch, including: Asus, Motorola, Samsung, Archos, and HTC, among others.
So I sought to organize some of the madness by summarizing the Tablet line-up for CES, at least as best as I can tell at this point. As they say YMMV, and I’m sure I’ve missed a model here or there.
Out of this list, I’m most interested in the much-hyped Motorola Xoom (I have a Droid, and Moto has made a stellar comeback thanks to their Android push), the next-gen Samsung Galaxy Tab (not an iPad killer, but a very good device), HTC Scribe (the Taiwanese company is really making a name for itself with Android smartphones) the line-up from Asus (if only because they pretty much invented the netbook category) and even Microsoft despite their numerous false starts.
CES 2011 Tablet Line-up
ACER
Models: ICONIA
Quick-Spec: 7 – 10.1″, Tegra, Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and Windows
X-factor: Will budget netbook strategy translate to success in tablets?
Buzz Index: Middling.
ASUS
Models: Eee Pad EP71, EP101 (dockable keyboard), EP102 (slide-out keyboard), EP121 (Windows 7), Eee Note
Quick-Spec: 7″ – 12″
X-factor: Built-in keyboard options make for potential laptop replacement. Broadest range of any vendor to-date. Has Asus built the “iPad Air” that I’ve always wanted?
Buzz Index: Hot.
DELL
Models: Streak (“Looking Glass”)
Quick-Spec: 7″, Tegra 2, Android 2.2 (Froyo), T-Mobile
X-factor: Try, try again.
Buzz Index: Warm milk.
HP
Models: PalmPad
Quick-Spec: 9.7″, WebOS,
X-factor: Secret sauce is WebOS, but does HP have sexy enough DNA to play in Tablet space? (Distribution is not a worry)
Buzz Index: Come see, come saw.
HTC
Models: Scribe (?)
Quick-Spec: Tegra 2, Honeycomb
X-factor: Built-in keyboard options make for potential laptop replacement. Broadest range of any vendor to-date. Has Asus built the “iPad Air” that I’ve always wanted?
Buzz Index: Come see, come saw.
LENOVO
Models: LePad
Quick-Spec: Honeycomb
X-factor: The enterprise choice?
Buzz Index: Understated.
LG
Models: Optimus Pad (cancelled?)
Quick-Spec: 8.9″, Tegra 2, Honeycomb
X-factor: Built-in keyboard options make for potential laptop replacement. Broadest range of any vendor to-date. Has Asus built the “iPad Air” that I’ve always wanted?
Buzz Index: Boiling over.
MICROSOFT
Models: ?
Quick-Spec: ?
X-factor: Deja vu all-over again?
Buzz Index: Comic relief?
MOTOROLA
Models: Xoom
Quick-Spec: 7″ – 12″
X-factor: Built-in keyboard options make for potential laptop replacement. Broadest range of any vendor to-date. Has Asus built the “iPad Air” that I’ve always wanted?
Buzz Index: Boiling over.
RIM
Models: PlayBook
Quick-Spec: 7″, BlackBerry Tablet OS (QNX)
X-factor: According to CEO Lazaridis, the device will seamlessly sync data across BlackBerry devices.
Buzz Index: Hot (if only to see if RIM has anything left in the innovation tank).
SAMSUNG
Models: Galaxy Tab 2, “Gloria”
Quick-Spec: 7″ – 12″
X-factor: Holds (distant) #2 spot after iPad. On a roll.
Buzz Index: Hot.
VIEWSONIC
Models: G Tablet
Quick-Spec: 10″, Tegra 2, 4G
X-factor: Nothing special.
Buzz Index: Not monitoring.
ON THE RADAR: Sharp, Ramos, Archos (Android tablet line-up already available for sale), Apple Newton?, Palm Pilot. Notion Ink Adam (Android, Pixel Qi LCD)